Americade Lake George In Summary

Americade Lake George In Summary

Americade Lake George In Summary

Americade Lake George is a week-long motorcycle rally whose headquarters and official venue are in Lake George Village, New York, USA. The extravaganza is held annually in the first week of June and attracts over 100,000 people, both spectators, and bikers. The event that was recently dubbed by it’s organizers as the “World’s Largest Motor Cycle Touring Rally” is usually open to all motorcyclists and equally all types and brands of motorcycles.

Unlike other bike rallies such as the Daytona Bike Week, Americade Lake George is known for its world-class organization and peaceful racing. Also, the 5-day spectacle features a broad variety of activities such as motorcycle touring and demo boat cruises. In 2007, the event organizers introduced ‘Mini Tours’ as part of the competitions. These tours feature short races to different regions of New York and Vermont.

americade lake george

In addition, Americade Lake George also holds a large motorcycle trade show, known as the TourExpo. The show is located in two separate locations in Lake George: The Forum and Million Dollar Beach. The most recent event was held between 7th and 11th June 2015 and over 100,000 people attended the show.

Event History

Americade Lake George was founded in 1983, and was organized by Bill Dutcher, who at the time had just freshly graduated from Havard. It was hosted at the Roaring Brook Ranch, Lake George, New York, where the races begun. This debut event was dubbed ” “Aspencade East” and was also accompanied by a TourExpo at the Glens Fall Civic Center. The event attracted a crowd of over 2000.

Americade Lake George, which was originally branded as Aspencade East, drew its name from another annual motorcycle touring festival known as Aspencade in Ruidoso, Mexico. Bill Dutcher, one of the founders of Americade Lake George had arranged with the original Aspencade event managers, to hold a similar show in the Eastern Seaboard and tag it as the ” Aspencade East.”

Nonetheless, Bill didn’t expect the immense success that the event turned out to be, only two years after the first show. The growth of the Aspencade East meant that they had to rebrand it to accommodate bikers from other regions. This they did in 1986 when they christened the rally as the “Americade Lake George” The name ‘ Americade’ was suggested by Bill’s wife, Gina Dutcher.

By 1986, the Americade Lake George had grown to be a multinational rally with an attendance totaling over 15,000. This prompted the event organizers to move it to Lake George Village where the venue was closer to motels and parking lots.

In 1994, the meteoric growth of the rally’s TourExpo unit urged it’s promoters to rent a dust-free place for easier showcasing of the bikes. They then rented the Million Beach Parking lot for the 1995 TourExpo. Since then, the Americade Lake George rents this property annually from the New York state for the tradeshow.

Years later, in 2004, the Americade’s TourExpo expanded to occupy The Forum- A recently built convention center in Lake George. The new venue meant that the tradeshow would accommodate more participants and spectators. In 2007, Americade Lake George was named as of the three most popular rallies the American Motor Cycle Association. The list ranked among other world-class motorcycle shows such as the Golden Aspen Rally in New Mexico and the Lone Star Rally in Texas, USA.

Event controversy and attendance

Although the American Lake George is one of the few shows that is widely considered peaceful, in the previous years, the event has witnessed numerous altercations between riders and law enforcers. In the 2008 Americade Lake George rally, the New York State Police reportedly barred a handful of attendees from accessing the venue citing lack of proper protective gear, registration, insurance, and ‘loud exhaust systems’. The move and extreme measures taken by the police angered many riders who vowed never to return to the event as they felt singled out and discriminated against.

Again in the 2009 event, numerous checkpoints were erected, and a volley of police helicopters deployed to counter any rider who would try to outrun the state troopers. In that event alone, over 300 tickets were issued to riders by the Warren County deputies for unapproved helmets and modified loud exhausts. Further, the NYPD made 50 arrests connected to traffic violations and other unspecified criminal cases.

Volunteers and staff

The Americade Lake George is one of the few rallies in the US that attracts a large number of volunteer staff to help with competition administration, hospitality and tour escort services. Nonetheless, together with the 220 seasonal volunteers, the show employs ten all-year round personnel.